Temple University recently announced Brian Thomson, PhD as a recipient of the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. The award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate teaching excellence in the classroom, laboratory or clinical setting. 

An associate professor of instruction in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Thomson has been at Temple for nearly a decade teaching a variety of topics including circuits, electronics, signals, control systems and senior design.  

The child of a teacher and an engineer, Thomson was able to find the perfect combination of his parents’ careers. Growing up, he watched his mother find a source of inspiration from her teaching and simultaneously was fascinated by the math and sciences aspects of his father’s career. While he opted to pursue engineering in college, the desire to teach was always at the back of his mind. 

“I was trying to figure out a way that I could do both — teach and still be involved in electrical engineering,” said Thomson. “I learned that you had to go to graduate school and get a PhD to do that work, so that’s what led me in that direction.” 

Outside of the classroom, Thomson is continually looking for ways to improve both his instruction methods and the overall student experience. He works with the curriculum committee to change and review curriculum that may not be working well for students and keeps up to date with various engineering education methods. 

In the classroom, his favorite courses to teach involve hardware and hands-on work. 

“I love teaching classes where I can take the stuff we’re learning, the concepts we’re trying to learn in the classroom, and bring it to some kind of real-life application,” he explained. 

Thomson’s impact on students doesn’t just happen during his lectures or even during hands-on projects. One of the aspects of the job he finds most rewarding and impactful is the ability to make curriculum and program changes to benefit students. Working with his colleagues for large-scale departmental improvements and seeing those changes result in positive learning outcomes for students is what brings him the most joy.    

These changes then turn into another one of Thomson’s favorite parts of the job — the “lightbulb moment”. Watching students grow consistently throughout the semester as they master the course material. 

Thomson sees the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award not just as recognition for his own career achievements, but as recognition for his family and the support he’s received from fellow electrical and computer engineering department members. 

Thomson was recognized alongside fellow faculty award winners at Temple’s 2025-2026 University Faculty Awards Ceremony on Monday, March 16, 2026.